The restaurants worth a reservation in Benidorm, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Benidorm. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Malaspina, the Mercure hotel's restaurant near Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooks Alicante rice, salt-cured fish and grilled aged meat; a Repsol Solete holder.
OrderA rice dish of the day, then aged beef from the grill if you have room.
TipIt took second prize at the 2026 Benidorm tapas contest; the Corner Bar on the same floor serves cocktails and casual plates.
La Fava is Fran Burgos's 25-seat house in Benidorm's old town, giving coastal Alicante dishes a modern turn; it won the 2026 Benidorm tapas contest.
OrderThe bluefin tuna belly when it is on, or one of the rice dishes for two.
TipThe whitewashed house sits a few streets back from Levante beach and seats about 25, so book a table by phone first.
La Cava Aragonesa has run a long tapas bar on Plaza de la Constitución in Benidorm's old town since 1980, known for yescas, pintxos and more than 700 wines.
OrderA tabla of four yescas, toasted bread rubbed with tomato and topped with cured meats or cheese.
TipStand at the bar to choose from the counter; the dining room takes bookings and serves a daily set menu.
Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 has fed Poniente beach in Benidorm since 1968, a family house cooking arroz a banda, paella, bay fish and Basque-style hake by the sea.
OrderArroz a banda for two, or the merluza a la vasca the house calls its signature.
TipThe kitchen runs straight through from noon, so a late lunch after the beach is easy; rice dishes are for a minimum of two.
Jardín Mediterráneo faces Levante beach in Benidorm with bay fish, Dénia prawns, Calpe langoustines and dry or soupy rice made with rock-fish stock.
OrderA rice made with Pego bomba rice and rock-fish stock, or prawns from Dénia by weight.
TipThe kitchen runs without a break from 11:00 to midnight, so it works for a late lunch; it took part in the 2026 tuna and spoon-dish weeks.
Taberna Andaluza cooks southern Spanish bar food on Calle del Esperanto in Benidorm: cazón en adobo, clams a la marinera, garlic prawns and hand-cut ham.
OrderCazón en adobo, dogfish marinated in spices and vinegar, then fried.
TipIts Presa Bao won the public vote at the 2026 Benidorm tapas contest; Wednesday is the closing day.
Umai is a Japanese restaurant on the first floor of the Belroy complex on Avenida del Mediterráneo in Benidorm, serving sushi rolls, sashimi and teppanyaki.
OrderA round of uramaki and sashimi, then something off the teppanyaki.
TipLunch and dinner only, closed on Monday and Tuesday; the kitchen also does takeaway for collection.
Marisquería El Puerto sits on Paseo de Colón by Benidorm's harbour, below the old town, cooking rice dishes, bay fish, shellfish and grilled beef.
OrderA seafood rice for the table, or the fish of the day from the harbour.
TipA regular in the city's 2026 food weeks: spoon dishes in March, bluefin tuna in April and the June tapas contest.
Casa Toni has cooked fish and shellfish in Benidorm since 1992, from bay red prawns and almadraba salazones to arroz del senyoret and fideuà for two or more.
OrderBay red prawns from the plancha, then arroz del senyoret for the table.
TipIt sits in the Los Gemelos IV building on Avenida de Cuenca, a few streets back from Levante beach; Sunday is lunch only.
Rice is a rice house on the Sierra Cortina estate above Benidorm, in Finestrat, cooking seven rices plus fideuà and rossejat, with grilled red prawns first.
OrderArroz de gamba roja y corvina for two, after a grilled red prawn each.
TipRice dishes are for at least two and the kitchen cooks one rice per table; dinner runs only on Friday and Saturday, so plan a long lunch.
El Mesón has run a restaurant and cervecería on Calle Gerona in Benidorm for over 40 years, cooking meat, fish and shellfish over holm-oak embers.
OrderA cut of beef from the holm-oak grill, with a plate of tuna belly and tomato to start.
TipThe cervecería side serves all day from 09:00; the restaurant took part in the city's 2026 spoon-dish, tuna and tapas weeks.
Arrocería La Marina cooks rice, calderos, meat and fish of the Marina Baixa in a country setting on the Camí del Palasiet, inland from Poniente in Benidorm.
OrderA rice or a caldero for the table; the kitchen is built around them.
TipBookings are confirmed only by phone; there is a car park and a children's play area, and Friday is the one late night.
Puig Campana has served fish, shellfish and rice on the beach at La Cala de Finestrat, past the far end of Benidorm's Poniente bay, since 1970.
OrderOne of the seafood rice dishes, or whatever fish came in that morning.
TipBookings are taken by phone only; it runs themed menus through the year, such as a blue lobster weekend in late September.
El Barranco is a seafront rice and fish house on Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooking arroz a banda, arroz del senyoret and rice with anchovies and spinach.
OrderArroz con boquerones y espinacas, Benidorm's own rice, for at least two.
TipRice dishes are made for at least two; a local quoted by Guía Repsol picks the salt-baked fish and the grilled baby squid.
D-Vora is the RH Canfali hotel's terrace restaurant by the church of Sant Jaume in Benidorm's old town, cooking Mediterranean food with Nikkei touches.
OrderArroz a la llanda with monkfish, squid and red prawns, after a bay-fish tiradito.
TipSet menus are served to the whole table and close at 15:00 at lunch and 22:00 at night; breakfast starts at 08:00 on the sea-view terrace.
ConBrassa is a wood-fire asador on the Poniente seafront in Benidorm, grilling dry-aged beef, wagyu and black angus, with Dénia red prawns and market fish.
OrderA dry-aged steak from the wood grill, with Santa Pola quisquilla shrimp to start.
TipIt joined the city's April 2026 bluefin tuna week; the same group runs El Barranco further along Poniente.
Shija cooks the food of the Balkans by Poniente beach in Benidorm, serving mezze and clay-pot dishes from a kitchen that keeps neither freezer nor fryer.
OrderA spread of Balkan mezze to share, then one of the clay-pot dishes.
TipThe street is in Benidorm's low-emission zone with restricted access, so arrive on foot from the Poniente promenade.
Ulia has cooked on the Poniente seafront in Benidorm for over forty years, a beach restaurant for bay tellinas, cuttlefish in its ink and rice dishes.
OrderTellinas from the bay, then a rice dish with a view of Benidorm Island.
TipIt sits at the La Cala end of Poniente; Sunday is lunch only and Monday the closing day.
Brasería Aurrera grills aged beef, seafood and fish over charcoal on Calle Santo Domingo in Benidorm's old town, a 50-seat room opened in 2004.
OrderA charcoal-grilled cut of aged beef, or a mixed seafood parrillada for two.
TipThe daily set menus are built around rice; it sits among the pintxo bars of Santo Domingo, the street Basque visitors made their own.
Ducado has cooked traditional Mediterranean food in Benidorm since 1980: sea bream, sea bass and other fish, lobster rice, milk-fed lamb and Iberian ham.
OrderArroz con bogavante, or whichever whole fish is on the day's list.
TipRoast suckling pig is cooked to order, so call ahead; Monday is lunch only and the restaurant closes all day Tuesday.
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